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CNN Live At Daybreak

7th Marines Providing Advance Guard for Convoy

Aired March 28, 2003 - 05:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We have just received word from Martin Savidge may be on the move. He's with the 1st Battalion 7th Marines in southern Iraq. Let's check in with him.
Martin, what can you tell us?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, we're with the 1st Battalion 7th Marines again, and they are on the move, although right now temporarily stopped.

And let me show you something out here. If you take a look just over this way, the ribbon of asphalt there, the road. That is one of the main supply lines that runs all the way south. Isn't always asphalt, but it runs all the way southbound into northern Kuwait.

This is the supply avenue that we are talking about here, and it's constantly being used by vehicles either running north or coming back south to pick up supplies. It's roads like this in this area that have been the target of the harassment now that has been taking place by the Fedayeen or by these paramilitary groups that have been trying to interrupt that flow of supplies. Obviously, you stop the supplies coming up, you can have a very large impact on the fighting force trying to push north and into the Baghdad area.

Behind us here, this is what is called a CAAT Team (ph). That's a combined armored anti-tank team. Essentially it's a very mobile, highly and heavily armed force. On the backs or their vehicles, right now these Humvees, which are the military jeeps that the U.S. uses, in this case the Marines. The long tube there is an anti-tank missile system, otherwise known as a TOW. They have machine guns. Some of the other units have 50 caliber machine guns and still others have what they call automatic grenade launching -- it is -- launchers. It's almost like a machine gun for grenades.

And this is the firepower and this is the mobility that trying to bring to bear all along this particular supply route. It is backed up, of course, by a heavier force of Marines that are all part of the 1st Battalion 7th Marines. So they have large armored personnel carriers, they've got about 20 Marines in each side of those. There's dozens and dozens of them. And then there are the support elements. All of this has been tasked now of the job of trying to clear this region, this particular area with these paramilitary units, trying to shut them down.

Initially, the job was guard the convoys, make sure everybody gets through. Now they want to expand that. They want to become proactive. They want to start going out into the villages, into the nearby towns, then on the basis that these units are using and striking there with a two-prong approach.

No. 1, appealing to the villagers and say look, don't harbor these people, don't give them shelter because they make you targets. And No. 2, if they go in there and do find any of these paramilitary units, well they're going to take them on and obviously try to take them out.

So this is the new strategy that's being employed along the highways here that run all the way down to northern Kuwait to keep the supply line open -- Anderson.

COOPER: Martin, all of that going into these villages, going to the source of these irregular fighters, I imagine all of that takes time. At the same time, these Marines are trying to protect supply lines. How is that going to work out, is the same -- the same CAAT Teams who are going to be doing both things?

SAVIDGE: Well it looks like they're going to be doing double- duty that's for certain. They're not only doing it on the ground, we've noted the whole time we've been traveling on the highway north here a lot of air assets, Cobra gunships. Those are the helicopters much like the Apaches only they're flown by the Marines. Then there are the CH-46 which are the twin rotor helicopter. A lot of aerial patrolling that is pushing up and down this highway, this supply line. And at the same time, you're going to have these fast mobile units that are nimble and quick and maneuverable going off and searching in the village areas. So it's a -- it's a double task that they're up against.

And then clearly what you have to ask is well how is this impacting the overall effort to push north to Baghdad? The military will only tell you that it's not having much of an effect, but it is having somewhat of an effect. But it's clear you can't keep pushing towards Baghdad if someone's harassing you in the rear as far as your supply line. So they're going to deal with this. Probably wasn't something they planned on initially before the ground war began, but they're quickly trying to adjust to it now -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Becoming proactive, obviously going to be a risky proposition.

Martin Savidge, thanks for checking in with us. We'll be following you over the last -- next couple of hours -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some fascinating pictures just in to the CNN Center. Let's take those pictures right now.

You're looking at the Sir Gallahad. It's in the Persian Gulf on its way to Umm Qasr. And of course on board this chip -- ship 200 tons of humanitarian aid. Things like food, water and medicine for the Iraqi people. Of course, as we've been telling you for the past several days, this ship's efforts were thwarted because of mines, new and old, planted along the way into the port of Umm Qasr underneath the water. Australian mine sweeping equipment...

COOPER: Yes, and it's... COSTELLO: ... has done a good job.

COOPER: It's...

COSTELLO: And we believe that most of the mines have been removed and that's why the ship is on its way right now.

COOPER: And it's been an international effort by both the Australian mine sweepers, the Becky Diamond or CNN's Becky Diamond have been telling us about. She's aboard one of the ships. Also, divers from coalition forces, British divers, believed to be some American divers as well, and these dolphins that the Americans were using to actually try to hunt out for mines underneath the water. It's just a...

COSTELLO: Such a fascinating part of this story, dolphins.

I want to describe this ship because it's pretty amazing. It's described as a part landing craft and it's constructed to land troops, tanks, vehicles and other heavy equipment in port or any suitable shore. In fact, they can offload this thing very quickly. And it can actually go up on land as well...

COOPER: Interesting.

COSTELLO: ... as being anchored in the water.

COOPER: And so that's, as Carol said, some 200 tons of aid expected to arrive in Umm Qasr. A lot of people, obviously, will be looking forward to that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 28, 2003 - 05:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We have just received word from Martin Savidge may be on the move. He's with the 1st Battalion 7th Marines in southern Iraq. Let's check in with him.
Martin, what can you tell us?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, we're with the 1st Battalion 7th Marines again, and they are on the move, although right now temporarily stopped.

And let me show you something out here. If you take a look just over this way, the ribbon of asphalt there, the road. That is one of the main supply lines that runs all the way south. Isn't always asphalt, but it runs all the way southbound into northern Kuwait.

This is the supply avenue that we are talking about here, and it's constantly being used by vehicles either running north or coming back south to pick up supplies. It's roads like this in this area that have been the target of the harassment now that has been taking place by the Fedayeen or by these paramilitary groups that have been trying to interrupt that flow of supplies. Obviously, you stop the supplies coming up, you can have a very large impact on the fighting force trying to push north and into the Baghdad area.

Behind us here, this is what is called a CAAT Team (ph). That's a combined armored anti-tank team. Essentially it's a very mobile, highly and heavily armed force. On the backs or their vehicles, right now these Humvees, which are the military jeeps that the U.S. uses, in this case the Marines. The long tube there is an anti-tank missile system, otherwise known as a TOW. They have machine guns. Some of the other units have 50 caliber machine guns and still others have what they call automatic grenade launching -- it is -- launchers. It's almost like a machine gun for grenades.

And this is the firepower and this is the mobility that trying to bring to bear all along this particular supply route. It is backed up, of course, by a heavier force of Marines that are all part of the 1st Battalion 7th Marines. So they have large armored personnel carriers, they've got about 20 Marines in each side of those. There's dozens and dozens of them. And then there are the support elements. All of this has been tasked now of the job of trying to clear this region, this particular area with these paramilitary units, trying to shut them down.

Initially, the job was guard the convoys, make sure everybody gets through. Now they want to expand that. They want to become proactive. They want to start going out into the villages, into the nearby towns, then on the basis that these units are using and striking there with a two-prong approach.

No. 1, appealing to the villagers and say look, don't harbor these people, don't give them shelter because they make you targets. And No. 2, if they go in there and do find any of these paramilitary units, well they're going to take them on and obviously try to take them out.

So this is the new strategy that's being employed along the highways here that run all the way down to northern Kuwait to keep the supply line open -- Anderson.

COOPER: Martin, all of that going into these villages, going to the source of these irregular fighters, I imagine all of that takes time. At the same time, these Marines are trying to protect supply lines. How is that going to work out, is the same -- the same CAAT Teams who are going to be doing both things?

SAVIDGE: Well it looks like they're going to be doing double- duty that's for certain. They're not only doing it on the ground, we've noted the whole time we've been traveling on the highway north here a lot of air assets, Cobra gunships. Those are the helicopters much like the Apaches only they're flown by the Marines. Then there are the CH-46 which are the twin rotor helicopter. A lot of aerial patrolling that is pushing up and down this highway, this supply line. And at the same time, you're going to have these fast mobile units that are nimble and quick and maneuverable going off and searching in the village areas. So it's a -- it's a double task that they're up against.

And then clearly what you have to ask is well how is this impacting the overall effort to push north to Baghdad? The military will only tell you that it's not having much of an effect, but it is having somewhat of an effect. But it's clear you can't keep pushing towards Baghdad if someone's harassing you in the rear as far as your supply line. So they're going to deal with this. Probably wasn't something they planned on initially before the ground war began, but they're quickly trying to adjust to it now -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Becoming proactive, obviously going to be a risky proposition.

Martin Savidge, thanks for checking in with us. We'll be following you over the last -- next couple of hours -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some fascinating pictures just in to the CNN Center. Let's take those pictures right now.

You're looking at the Sir Gallahad. It's in the Persian Gulf on its way to Umm Qasr. And of course on board this chip -- ship 200 tons of humanitarian aid. Things like food, water and medicine for the Iraqi people. Of course, as we've been telling you for the past several days, this ship's efforts were thwarted because of mines, new and old, planted along the way into the port of Umm Qasr underneath the water. Australian mine sweeping equipment...

COOPER: Yes, and it's... COSTELLO: ... has done a good job.

COOPER: It's...

COSTELLO: And we believe that most of the mines have been removed and that's why the ship is on its way right now.

COOPER: And it's been an international effort by both the Australian mine sweepers, the Becky Diamond or CNN's Becky Diamond have been telling us about. She's aboard one of the ships. Also, divers from coalition forces, British divers, believed to be some American divers as well, and these dolphins that the Americans were using to actually try to hunt out for mines underneath the water. It's just a...

COSTELLO: Such a fascinating part of this story, dolphins.

I want to describe this ship because it's pretty amazing. It's described as a part landing craft and it's constructed to land troops, tanks, vehicles and other heavy equipment in port or any suitable shore. In fact, they can offload this thing very quickly. And it can actually go up on land as well...

COOPER: Interesting.

COSTELLO: ... as being anchored in the water.

COOPER: And so that's, as Carol said, some 200 tons of aid expected to arrive in Umm Qasr. A lot of people, obviously, will be looking forward to that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com